The view from DACH with HIG Capital

Private equity dealmakers in the DACH region have been facing a
plethora of challenges in 2022 and 2023 in particular. Funds
editor Harriet Matthews discusses the 2024 outlook with HIG
Capital’s Holger Kleingarn, and is also joined by Mergermarket’s
DACH bureau chief Patrick Costello, who shares his insights on
market sentiment and how dealflow is shaping up for 2024.


DACH private equity activity in the year to date has comprised
EUR 18bn of disclosed deal volume across 156 deals, versus EUR
27bn of deal volume and 164 deals in 2022, according to
Mergermarket data. Exits have also fallen, with EUR 7bn in
disclosed volume across 44 deals in 2023 YTD versus EUR 11bn
across 51 deals in 2022.


Meanwhile, fundraising for DACH-focused buyout funds has reached
an eight-year low in 2023, with EUR 2.7bn raised across five
vehicles – but with EUR 159bn of the approximately EUR 165bn
total buyout fundraising in Europe potentially able to make DACH
deals, the region will not be short of capital to get deals done
when the market picks up.


In a guest interview, HIG Capital managing director Holger
Kleingarn gives an overviews of the challenges and opportunities
for private equity in the DACH region, including the macro
picture and the art of the PE exit.


Kleingarn also highlights sectors and themes that are of interest
to HIG, including infrastructure services, healthcare services,
labour location and reallocation, sports and esports, business
process automation, AI, and energy efficiency.


Lastly, the team discusses some of the key points from the
interview with Kleingarn, and looks ahead to some of the topics
that the market will be keeping an eye on as we move into 2024,
including buyer and seller valuation expectations.


DACH data overview – 1:26


Fundraising focus – 2:58


Market sentiment – 5:17


What’s in the year-end and 2024 deal pipeline? – 6:27


Interview with Holger Kleingarn – 8:37


The macro picture – 9:04

Opportunities for private equity – 12:19

2024 outlook and HIG’s key sectors – 17:29

The art and science of exits – 23:51

Cause for optimism – 29:30



Key takeaways and analysis – 35:05


Adjusting valuations – 37:27


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Theme music: 2012 Kick Up The Fire